“Submission hunters prevail” – ONE Championship compiles the best MMA submissions of 2023

Submission finishes were aplenty in 2023 for mixed martial arts in ONE Championship, which the promotion celebrated with a video compilation on Instagram.

Featured in the list were impressive submissions put out by the likes of Sage Northcutt, Thanh Le, Garry Tonon, Ayaka Miura and Mansur Malachiev through different events of the promotion.

ONE Championship captioned it with:

“Submission hunters prevail 💪 Which finish was your favorite from this year?”⁠

Check out the video below:

Northcutt marked his return to MMA action after nearly four years on the sidelines because of various medical issues with a quick work of Pakistani fighter Ahmed Mujtaba in May. He finished the match just 39 seconds into their scheduled three-rounder with a heel hook in ONE’s first-ever live on-ground event in the United States.

The win has set him up with a showdown later this month against Japanese legend Shinya Aoki in Tokyo.

Thanh Le, meanwhile, bounced back in a grand way in his last match in October when he claimed the interim ONE featherweight MMA world title by submission in the opening round via heel hook over Russian contender Ilya Freymanov.

In his previous fight the American-Vietnamese fighter lost the division’s belt to Tang Kai of China by unanimous decision. The two are booked for a rematch in March at ONE 166: Qatar.

For his part, Tonon made it back-to-back wins in July when he topped Russian Shamil Gasanov in the second round of their featured featherweight MMA clash by knee bar.

He is seeking to make it three straight wins when he returns to action later this month at ONE 165: Rodtang vs. Takeru against Australian Martin Nguyen.

Japanese atomweight fighter Miura, meanwhile, halted a three-fight losing streak in November by submitting Chinese knockout artist Meng Bo via scarf-hold Americana in the opening round.

It is a result she wants to take cue from when she collides against Itsuki Hirata at ONE 165 in an all-Japanese atomweight MMA joust.

Then Russian Malachiev made it a rousing ONE Championship debut back in June when he put Filipino strawweight Jeremy Miado in a D'Arce choke late in the opening round of their showdown to immediately become a contender in his division.

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Sage Northcutt seeks to further propel ONE Championship journey at ONE 165 against Shinya Aoki

American martial artist Sage Northcutt’s ONE Championship journey was derailed by four years because of various medical issues but he is determined to make up for lost time and showcase what he is truly capable of as a fighter.

“Super’ Sage made an impressive return to competition in May when he sent Pakistani opponent Ahmed Mujtaba to a submission loss by heel hook in just 39 seconds in their clash in ONE Championship’s first-ever live on-ground event in the United States.

He wants to build on that victory when he collides with Japanese legend Shinya Aoki at ONE 165: Rodtang vs. Takeru on January 28 in Tokyo.

The showdown between the two fighters has been a long time coming, with Northcutt expressing his desire to take on Aoki even when he was away from competition.